Free Resources for Technical Writers
A list of helpful, 100% free resources for technical writers.
General
Cherryleaf Podcast
Podcast on becoming a better technical and business communicator
DITA Writer
Blog and general resource on technical writing and industry trends
Google Technical Writing Courses
Two free technical writing courses offered by the tech giant
I’d Rather Be Writing
Blog and learning resource on technical writing
Just Write Click
Blog on technical writing
Scriptorium Podcast
Podcast on technical writing, content strategy and operations, and structured authoring
Technical Writer HQ
Introductions and guides to different fields of technical writing. YouTube channel also available
Write the Docs
Global community of technical writers with a Slack instance, conferences, and local meet-ups
GitHub
Video: GitHub for Documentation, by Rhonda Glennon
Introduction to GitHub tailored to documentarians
Video: GitHub as a Landing Page, by Lorna Jane Mitchell
Basics and best practices for using GitHub for documentation
Programming
freeCodeCamp
Free coding courses and certifications
W3schools
Free software development tutorials, including XML, JSON, markdown, and much more
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
Learning DITA
Free courses to learn DITA fundamentals
Video: What is DITA XML?
Brief introduction to what DITA is
OxygenXML - DITA Elements, A to Z
OxygenXML documentation on all available DITA elements
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
I’d Rather Be Writing - Documenting APIs: A guide for technical writers and engineers
Full course to learn how to document APIs
Diagrams & Charts
Diagrams in Documentation (Markdown Guide)
Guide to creating diagrams in markdown
Diagrams.net
Powerful online diagram and flowchart maker
Mermaid
JavaScript-based diagramming and charting tool that transforms markdown to graphics. Live online editor also available
Standards
ASD-STE100
Simplified technical English specifications
MIL-STD-40051
US Department of Defense standards and specifications for technical manuals